Houston Rockets Highlights to Get You Pumped Up for 2014-15 Season

A lot has gone wrong for the Houston Rockets lately. Ever since Damian Lillard sent them packing earlier than expected in the 2013-14 postseason, the Rockets have had the bad news pile on.

General manager Daryl Morey took a big swing this offseason and came up empty. He lost Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik and Chandler Parsons in a bold attempt to bring in Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh. This whiff has left the Rockets reeling, and now the bench consists of young, unproven talent.

But it's not all bad for Houston fans.

The Rockets still have two All-Stars in James Harden and Dwight Howard. They also have some promising players looking to burst on the scene in their new roles this upcoming year. And, with a new mindset on defense combined with the team's impeccable offensive efficiency, there could be a lot to look forward to in Houston.

Here are some videos to pump you up for the Rockets' 2014-15 campaign.

James Harden's FIBA Success

This summer, Harden represented the Stars and Stripes in Spain as a leader for a young Team USA. The Beard and Co. went on to win the gold.

We all knew Harden could score. He's one of the best in the business at putting the ball in the hoop, whether it's driving to the rim or pulling up from outside. That didn't change overseas, as he wove his way around defenders with ease and put up big numbers for the Americans. Even a different ball couldn't slow down his jump shot.

But perhaps the best part of these highlights is his improvement on defense. As someone who gets a lot of grief for his poor defensive effort, Harden knows he has to step it up on that end of the floor. Harden told the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, "I have to be better. I have to be great on both ends."

There are a lot of great offensive highlights in this video, which we like to see, but it's also particularly encouraging to see plenty of steals. Any fans who watched closely this summer during the World Cup know that Harden had some expected slip-ups here and there, but overall he has stepped up his defensive effort.

It's also nice to see a lot of those captivating lobs to Kenneth Faried, which could be going Dwight Howard's way during the regular season.

Dwight Howard's Postseason Dominance

Dwight Howard had a solid campaign in his first season with the Houston Rockets. However, this year he is ready to take it to a whole new level.

In a recent interview with Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, Howard talked about to his injuries in LA and his new workout program this summer. The most dominant center in the game is approaching his prime, and he's in the best shape of his life. He is ready to regain his elite status in the NBA as the best big man in the game, via The Washington Post's Michael Lee.

There were times when he was just coasting through the regular season, still trying to shake off some nagging injuries. However, he kicked things up a notch once the playoffs rolled around. As you can see in the highlights from Game 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers, Howard proved he could dominate the paint on both ends of the floor.

Not only was he protecting the rim as well as he has throughout his entire career, but he was also excelling in the post against Robin Lopez. He had some great moves, plenty of which resulted in dunks, and that success can be attributed to his mentor, Hakeem Olajuwon.

This offseason, Howard has continued to work with The Dream and is getting even better while also getting healthier. Trevor Ariza was teammates with him back in Orlando several years ago, but he acknowledged that Howard "seems stronger to me, looks like he's jumping higher than he did," per Wojnarowski.

In regard to his playoff performance, Howard said he plans on "playing at that level every single night." Now that he is finally healthy and at the peak of his athleticism, he can go back to dominating not just in the playoffs but every single game.

With Harden only getting better and Howard regaining his dominant form, this tandem can accomplish great things together in Houston.

Trevor Ariza Lighting It Up

The Rockets brought in Trevor Ariza to fill the void of Chandler Parsons after letting him walk in restricted free agency up north to Dallas. Parsons was a fan favorite and an emerging star in Houston, and while he'll be sorely missed, Ariza will be more than a sufficient replacement.

Ariza helped a young Washington Wizards club advance to the Eastern Semifinals last year with his defense and three-point shooting. He isn't nearly the type of playmaker that Parsons is; however, his style of play will fit nicely into the Rockets system, especially alongside Howard and Harden.

Last season, Ariza actually shot the deep ball better than Parsons did. He connected on approximately 41 percent of his attempts, including the 10 in the video above at the Toyota Center.

His outside shot is certainly a bonus, but Ariza's elite perimeter defense is the big factor that will help the Rockets improve, even with Parsons gone.

The Rockets defense last year was average, but only thanks to Howard and Asik protecting the paint. Along the perimeter, Houston got shredded apart by talented wings. Harden was abysmal defensively, and Parsons wasn't much better. Ariza is a lockdown type of guy who will help the Rockets change their defensive mindset.

Houston fans may miss Parsons, and they should, but soon they will realize that Ariza is a better fit systematically, and for half the price.

Bench Players' Upside

One of the biggest concerns heading into this season for the Rockets is their bench. They lost two key guys in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik from their second unit, but the talent of the currrent role players may be better than most would think.

It all starts with D-Mo. Donatas Motiejunas could end up being the sixth man for the Rockets this season. The 7-footer continues to improve since arriving in Houston from overseas. He gave us a glimpse of his extraordinary potential during the summer league in Vegas.

D-Mo made first team all-summer league, averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He shot nearly 60 percent from the floor and 43 percent from deep. His post game was on point, and he led the Rockets to the Las Vegas Summer League championship game. It may be a small sample size, and against inferior talent, but at least we know that D-Mo has a chance of being a big-time contributor this season backing up Howard after the departure of Asik.

Motiejunas isn't the only one who will surprise people.

In the same game against the Hornets, Isaiah Canaan was also a huge factor. He attacked the basket at will and consistently hit his shots from behind the arc all summer long. He averaged 17 points per contest and hit 37 percent from three.

With Lin gone, Canaan will split time with Ish Smith as the backup point guard. Smith is a better defender and a little quicker, but Canaan will get called on to come in and score some points.

Also, you can't forget about Troy Daniels. He will always be remembered for his game-winner in Game 3 vs. Portland, but he also will be a solid rotation guy this upcoming season. Most of his shots will come from beyond the arc, where he is a specialist, but he is capable of actually playing the game. His defense needs improvement, but when the Rockets need a spark, he will get the nod from coach Kevin McHale.

There are some other guys to get excited about as well, like the athletic rookie Nick Johnson or the Greek superstar Kostas Papanikolaou. The Rockets bench will definitely surprise people this year.

Rockets-Lakers Rivalry

As we patiently wait for opening night October 28 in LA against the Lakers, let's take this opportunity to look back at the finest moments between these two franchises.

The Lakers have had much more success as a franchise—they are second only to the Boston Celtics historically—but these squads have shared some interesting moments over the years.

Who could forget Ralph Sampson's over-the-head heave for the game-winner, sending the Rockets to their first ever NBA Finals appearance? Or how about when Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal faced off for the first time?

That 2009 playoff series was intense, as you can see in the video above. Like when Yao went down in Game 1 but came back and hit the dagger. Then Aaron Brooks went off in Game 4 and added a little insult to injury with this alley-oop.

This is actually not the first time these teams have squared off to start the season. They have had two epic matchups on opening night in recent memory. In Rick Adelman's debut as coach of the team, Shane Battier hit a prayer from deep to avoid a disastrous collapse down the stretch. A few years later, Steve Blake and the Lakers got their revenge with a game-winner of their own.

Last season, the rivalry took an interesting turn when Dwight Howard chose to leave Lakerland and play for Houston. However, in his highly anticipated return, the Rockets steamrolled a decrepit Lakers team. It wasn't even close.

It will be interesting to see how Kobe Bryant plays in his second return from injury, but LA's expectations this season are fairly low. It'll be fun to see Howard go back to Staples Center and to see Kobe back on the floor, but these teams are heading in opposite directions, so the actual game may not be all that exciting. Still, it's the return of Rockets basketball, so it's exciting nevertheless.

Also, in terms of rivalry, the Rockets-Mavericks feud will be a good one to follow, especially with all of the drama surrounding Mark Cuban, Morey and Parsons.

The Shot and the Pursuit

Sorry you had to see that again. We've all seen it far too many times, but this time it's different.

That single fraction of a second changed the entire course of this Rockets team. Some people view that buzzer-beater as a destruction of the Rockets' future. Others, such as Dwight Howard, view it as an opportunity. He told Lee:

"

As much life as it sucked out me, when he hit that shot, just stepping away from the game a little bit for a couple of months gave me that passion and everything I needed, that fire, to do what I needed to do to win. I think it happened for a reason. If we had won that series and moved on, a lot of things that we had problems with would’ve just been swept under the rug.

"

Lillard's shot ended the Rockets' season far earlier than they had hoped. As a result, they tried to revamp the roster and lost some key guys in the process. However, there is a bright side.

That dagger will serve as motivation for the upcoming season. Everything the Rockets worked hard for was taken away from them in the blink of an eye, but this year they have a new opportunity to contend for a championship.

Like Howard said, had Houston won that series, then Morey probably would not have had to address certain issues. Now, the team has a new mindset that focuses on defense, and the Rockets have the necessary cap space to make big moves when necessary.

The slogan for this year's team is Pursuit. Harden, Howard and company are in pursuit of a championship and won't settle for anything less. Some people are already writing off the Rockets this year, but maybe that underdog role is just what they need to motivate them to make a deep playoff push.